Regal Cinemas in River City Marketplace in North Jacksonville is in review for demolition to make way for BJ’s Wholesale Club.
Property owner Ramco Jacksonville LLC applied to the city for a permit to demolish the 63,810-square-foot theater building at a cost of $247,000.
Able Construction Inc. of Jacksonville is the contractor. JAA Architecture of Jacksonville is the architect.
The 14-screen Regal River City Marketplace at 12884 City Center Blvd. was built in 2006 on 9 acres. It remains open.
Plans and the pending permit refer to the theater as AMC, but it is Regal.
The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 19 that Cineworld Group PLC, the owner of Regal Cinemas, is preparing to file for bankruptcy within weeks after struggling to rebuild movie-theater attendance from pandemic lows. It attributed the information to people familiar with the matter. Regal also has the Regal Avenues theater at 9525 Phillips Highway in The Avenues mall area.
BJ’s Wholesale Club is on track for a new location at the River City Marketplace site.
Ramco Jacksonville LLC filed civil engineering plans with the city July 27 to replace the Regal with the proposed 103,005-square-foot wholesale club.
Plans also show a fueling facility on the 10.66-acre site.
Edwards Engineering is the consulting civil engineering firm.
RPT Realty, Ramco’s corporate name, said May 4 in its first-quarter report to investors that it signed a 103,000-square-foot wholesale club to replace the movie theater, but did not identify it as BJ’s.
It included the news again in its Aug. 3 second-quarter investor presentation that a “National Wholesale Club” will replace the Regal Entertainment Group site in River City Marketplace.
It listed BJ’s as a potential new tenant in its national plans, but did not say that was the club replacing the Regal.
A St. Johns River Water Management District application confirmed in June that BJ’s will replace the theater.
Property owner RPT Realty applied to the district to modify a permit to demolish the theater building and build the wholesale club.
The Duval County Tax Collector’s website shows the Regal property is owned by Ramco Jacksonville LLC, based in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Ramco Properties announced in 2018 that it was changing its name to RPT Realty.
RPT Realty is an open-air shopping center real estate investment trust based in New York.
Wholesale club stores in Jacksonville include BJ’s Wholesale Club, Costco Wholesale Co. and Sam’s Club.
BJ’s operates three Northeast Florida stores, with one in Orange Park and two in Jacksonville at southeast Kernan and Atlantic boulevards and at northwest Philips Highway and Baymeadows Road. It also operates a regional distribution center in West Jacksonville.
BJ’s range from 70,000 to 130,000 square feet, averaging about 111,000 square feet.
Costco has two stores in Jacksonville and one in St. Johns County near World Golf Village.
Sam’s Club has three stores in Jacksonville, including one about 5 miles south of River City Marketplace along Busch Drive.